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Be a Fan of Joy

Raise your holiday spirits with A Very Special Christmas music and help bring the joy of Special Olympics to more people worldwide.

Raising Holiday Spirits. Sheryl Crow helps bring joy to Special Olympics athletes around the world. See the slideshow.

Since 1987, Special Olympics and top recording artists have worked together on a fundraising collaboration that brings joy to millions each holiday season. The A Very Special Christmas holiday music collections are like no other, delivering seasonal cheer in every musical style: traditional, rock, rap, country Western, world, Latin and jazz. Eleven albums feature songs by dozens of internationally acclaimed artists, including U2, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, No Doubt, Eric Clapton and Sting.

A Very Special Christmas CDs and DVDs spread cheer and raise awareness of Special Olympics. They also raise much-needed funds – over $100 million to date. These funds make up Special Olympics Christmas Record Trust, which provides grants to help grow Special Olympics Programs in the neediest parts of world.

Like India – where over 200,000 new athletes from some of the poorest urban and rural areas now know the joy of sports training, thanks to the Inspire Hope India campaign, which brought together private and public entities in support of Special Olympics.

And Africa, where children from an institution in Soweto no longer are confined indoors to beds and wheelchairs, but now regularly take part in a Special Olympics Program.

And Russia, where new coaches are part of a national training program funded through the trust, resulting in more than 85,000 new athletes in less than five years.

And China – most impressive of all. With seed funding from the trust, Special Olympics China today has over 700,000 athletes and support from China’s central government, making it the fastest-growing arm of the global Special Olympics movement.

The Special Olympics Christmas Record Grant Trust allows our movement to invest in developing regions around the world – in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Last year, 74 Special Olympics programs worldwide, including programs in Namibia, Malawi, Chad and Afghanistan, received funds directly from sales of A Very Special Christmas series. Music allows us to bring dignity, pride and empowerment through the love of sport to many more children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing them a life of participation, pride, teamwork, friendship and joy.

A Very Special Christmas is about more than holiday cheer. It’s about the energy and cooperation of record companies, producers and artists coming together to transform lives and communities. It’s about dedication and teamwork between organizations that care to make a difference. And it’s about joy – many voices from around the world, uniting in the belief that together, we can make the world a better place.

This holiday season, ring in the holidays with a special three CD package, A Very Special Christmas®, Volume I- III, and help Special Olympics change the lives of millions ofathletes worldwide.

This three-disc compilation features legendary musicians, including Madonna, U2, Sheryl Crow, Aretha Franklin, Run D.M.C. and Bruce Springsteen. All of the artists donated their time and recorded renditions of holiday favorites.

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